Although the most cursory click-around on this digital slab of opinion makes it clear that I have no reservation about ranking the pop culture artifacts that stir my soul, the exception to that sorting rule comes when I look back … Continue reading Five Songs from 2021
The stack of hyperlinks until the Previously… at the bottom of this post remind me of just how long I’ve maintaining this particular end-o’-the-year tradition. Clicking on any one of those hyperlinks confirms that my summary introduction is almost always … Continue reading Top Ten Albums of 2021
257. Violent Femmes, Violent Femmes (1983) The beloved legend isn’t quite true. The story goes that Violent Femmes were propelled to a record deal and national cult hero status when a lucky break came their way while they were busking … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #257 to #255
I’m not quite sure how the cultural tectonic plates shifted enough to make an LCD Soundsystem holiday special a viable endeavor for corporate investment, but here we are. A portion of the act’s yuletide cheer was delivered as the gleaming … Continue reading This Week’s Model — LCD Soundsystem, “Christmas Will Break Your Heart”
260. David Bowie, Scary Monsters (1980) As the nineteen-eighties dawned, David Bowie was arguably the quintessential rock ‘n’ roll artiste. Bowie was coming off a trio of studio albums — Low, “Heroes,” and Lodger, which he had taken to referring … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #260 to #258
Katie Crutchfield keeps busy. Even as she’s continued to tour, tour, tour in pandemic-belated support of Waxahatchee’s first-rate 2020 album, Saint Cloud, she’s found the time to make new music, too. She cut a few new covers for a spruced-up, … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Waxahatchee, “Tomorrow”
This series of posts covers my long, beloved history interacting with the medium of radio, including the music that flowed through the airwaves. It wasn’t like me to knock on that door, or, more precisely, the jamb around the open … Continue reading Radio Days — The Advisor
263. Lloyd Cole and the Commotions, Easy Pieces (1985) “I could think the sound of this LP is considerably different to the first one,” Lloyd Cole said not along after the release of Easy Pieces, his sophomore outing with backing … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #263 to #261
As we sled into the part of the calendar which is meant to be filled with good cheer, it seems appropriate to turn over this workweek-ending feature to an artist that allows me to pilfer and post an Instagram snap … Continue reading This Week’s Model — Fresh, “Morgan & Joanne”
266. The Rolling Stones, Undercover (1983) Mick Jagger and Keith Richards weren’t getting along. There are plenty of eras from the long history of the Rolling Stones when that statement was true. In the making of Undercover, Richards later pegged … Continue reading College Countdown: CMJ Top 1000, 1979 – 1989 — #266 to #264
Coffee for Two 